From 2016 to 2018, Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen were teammates at Red Bull Racing. The Australian shocked the F1 world in August of 2018 as he confirmed he would be moving to Renault for the 2019 campaign.
Since that decision, the career trajectories of the two have gone in totally different directions. Verstappen has powered on to win two championships, while the man from Perth is currently not on the grid because of a difficult spell at McLaren. He’s returned to Red Bull Racing as reserve driver for 2023.
The 33-year-old spoke recently about his spell at Red Bull alongside the Dutchman. Verstappen won on debut for the team in a memorable drive at the Spanish Grand Prix, but he was quite prone to crashes and mistakes until the penny finally dropped following the Monaco Grand Prix in 2018.
Ricciardo had won the qualifying head-to-head 11-6 in 2016. Two years later and that had turned completely around as the Dutch star comfortably beat his teammate 15-5 on a Saturday afternoon.
Although Ricciardo outscored Verstappen by 626-621 over their time together, it was clear by the end of their spell as teammates that the now 25-year-old was the faster driver.
Ricciardo explained how Verstappen evolved from a driver who was incredibly quick but rough around the edges to the complete driver these days. Such is the high level the Dutch driver operates at, his former stablemate hopes he doesn’t improve even further.
“I think the speed he always had. So the speed was there, it was then just kind of cleaning up the edges and, naturally, that comes with experience and maturity. I think he’s now that person.
“He’s in his mid-20s and just the way he carries himself, I look at him now as a young man, not a teenager, and I think he’s very comfortable.
“With a lot more races under his belt as well, [he] knows how to manage the situation, and he’s a complete driver. Hopefully he doesn’t keep getting better because the level he’s at is pretty good.”
Photo credit: Red Bull Content Pool
